Seol Ki-hyeon

Seol Ki-hyeon (born 8 January 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a winger, and who currently is the manager of Gyeongnam FC. He is also the first South Korean footballer to score in the history of the UEFA Champions League, during his time at Anderlecht.

In this Korean name, the family name is Seol.
Seol Ki-hyeon
Seol with Fulham
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-01-08) 8 January 1979
Place of birth Jeongseon, Gangwon, South Korea
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Gyeongnam FC (manager)
Youth career
1997–2000 Kwangwoon University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Royal Antwerp 25 (10)
2001–2004 Anderlecht 72 (18)
2004–2006 Wolverhampton Wanderers 69 (8)
2006–2007 Reading 30 (4)
2007–2010 Fulham 18 (1)
2009 → Al-Hilal (loan) 7 (1)
2010 Pohang Steelers 16 (7)
2011 Ulsan Hyundai 29 (3)
2012–2014 Incheon United 73 (11)
Total 339 (63)
National team
1999 South Korea U20 12 (7)
1999–2000 South Korea U23 22 (10)
2000–2009 South Korea 82 (19)
Teams managed
2015 Sungkyunkwan University (caretaker)
2016-2018 Sungkyunkwan University
2019- Gyeongnam FC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
Korean name
Hangul
설기현
Hanja
薛琦鉉
Revised RomanizationSeol Gi-hyeon
McCune–ReischauerSŏl Ki-hyŏn

Club career

Career in Belgium

In July 2000, Seol joined a Belgian club Royal Antwerp,[1] and became the first South Korean footballer who scored double digits in a European league during a season since Cha Bum-kun.[2]

After a successful season with Royal Antwerp, he moved to Anderlecht. He scored a hat-trick in the space of 12 minutes in the 2001 Belgian Super Cup,[3] and he scored the first South Korea goal of the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[4] He also won the 2003–04 First Division with Anderlecht.[5]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In August 2004, Seol moved to England, joining Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers.[6] The Wolverhampton coach at the time, Glenn Hoddle, preferred Seol as one of his first-choice forwards,[6] using him in various roles including striker, attacking midfielder and winger of both sides.[7] Disappointed with the failure of Wolves to win promotion from the Championship, Seol sought a move to the Premier League following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, despite having two years of his contract left. He was reported as saying "At this stage, I'm frustrated not to be in the Premiership. I think there will be some good news after the World Cup."[8]

Reading

Seol eventually joined newly promoted Premier League club Reading on 12 July 2006 for a reported transfer fee of £1.5 million.[9] On 16 September 2006, he scored his first Premiership goal as Reading won 2–1 at Sheffield United.[10] On 1 October 2006, he scored his second goal for Reading against West Ham United, proving to be only goal of the match.[11] He was voted by Reading fans as the official Player of the Month for August 2006 by showing great performances early in the season,[12] and was ranked 11th in the player rankings of the Premier League after the seventh round.[13] His third goal for Reading, his first at home, came on 18 November 2006 in the 2–0 win against Charlton Athletic.[14] He scored his fourth goal against Blackburn Rovers, the last game of the season.

Fulham

Seol left Reading for Fulham on 31 August 2007 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, with Liam Rosenior going the other way.[9][15] Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted that strained relations between him and Seol led to the move.[16] He did not score his first goal for Fulham during his first season. On 16 August 2008, he scored his first goal against Hull City, but Fulham lost 2–1.[17] On 14 January 2009, he had signed an initial 6-month loan move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia with a view to moving permanently.[18] However, he stated that he desired to stay at Fulham to win his place in the squad,[19] and he went on to score his second goal for the club against FK Vetra in the Europa League.[20] On 15 January 2010, It was announced that his contract with Fulham had been cancelled by mutual consent.[21]

Return to South Korea and retirement

After playing for Pohang Steelers, Ulsan Hyundai, and Incheon United in the K League, Seol announced his retirement on 2 March 2015 in order to become interim manager of Sungkyunkwan University. A retirement ceremony took place in a friendly match of South Korea and Jamaica on 13 October 2015.[22]

International career

Seol played in his first World Cup in front of his home crowd, South Korea being co-hosts with Japan for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was a key member of the squad during the tournament, memorably scoring the equalizer against Italy in the round of 16.[23] He was nominated for the 2002 Ballon d'Or in that year.[24]

Managerial career

On 26 December 2019, Seol was appointed as manager of Gyeongnam FC.[25]

Media

Seol was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".[26][27]

Honours

Anderlecht

Fulham

Al-Hilal

Ulsan Hyundai

South Korea U20

South Korea

Individual

References
  1. 벨기에 찍고 빅리그 간다 (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 3 January 2001. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  2. [카드 뉴스] 유럽 리그에서 두 자릿수 득점의 금자탑을 쌓은 한국 선수들 (in Korean). Football Tribe. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. "Anderlecht pakt Supercup" (in Dutch). Het Belang van Limburg. 4 August 2001. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. 설기현, 험난했던 영국 프리미어리그 입성 (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. Nackaerts, Luc (26 January 2005). "Belgium 2003/04". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. 울버햄튼의 영원한 기억…'쎄올(Seol)' (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 30 October 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  7. 울버햄튼 감독, "설기현 최고 멀티플레이어" 극찬 (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 21 January 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  8. "Seol Ki-hyun looking to Premier League". The Korea Herald. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. "Coppell reveals Seol exit reason". BBC Sport. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  10. Holt, Sarah (16 September 2006). "Sheff Utd 1–2 Reading". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  11. Warren, Dan (1 October 2006). "West Ham 0–1 Reading". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  12. "Seol voted as Reading player of the month". AFC. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  13. 설기현, EPL 선수랭킹 공동 11위 '수직상승' (in Korean). JoyNews24. 4 October 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  14. "Reading 2–0 Charlton". London: BBC Sport. 18 November 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  15. "Rosenior signs as Seol departs". Reading. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  16. "Coppell reveals Seol exit reason". London: BBC Sport. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  17. May, John (16 August 2008). "Hull City 2–1 Fulham". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  18. "Seol Moves to Saudi Club". The Korea Times. 14 January 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  19. "Seol to return to Fulham". Sky Sports. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  20. "FK Vetra 0–3 Fulham". BBC Sport. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  21. "Best Of Luck". Fulham. 15 January 2010. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  22. '은퇴' 설기현 "모든 분들께 감사하다, 좋은 지도자 되겠다" (in Korean). Xportsnews. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  23. "Korea's golden moment". London: BBC Sport. 18 June 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  24. "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 2002". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  25. 경남FC 신임감독에 한일월드컵 주역 설기현 선임 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  26. "A lighter shoe, cooler kits, a faster ball, a Secret Tournament – every touch counts". NikeBiz. Nike. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  27. Cozens, Claire (3 April 2002). "Cantona hosts World Cup with a difference". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  28. Stokkermans, Karel (4 February 2016). "UEFA European Competitions 2009-10". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  29. Benjamin, Zaid (2 October 2009). "Saudi Arabia 2008/09". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  30. Stokkermans, Karel; Zlotkowski, Andre (10 September 2015). "South Korea 2011". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  31. 설기현 SEOL Ki-Hyeon MF (in Korean). KFA. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  32. "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™ - Matches - Korea Republic-Turkey". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  33. Stokkermans, Karel (4 March 2011). "Asian Nations Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  34. 설기현, 축구 팬들이 뽑은 올해의 선수 (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
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